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Overcoming Injuries
Eight months. 243 days, 5,843 hours, 350,632 minutes and
21,03,!50 seconds. Eight
months. Enough time to see 8 "u## moons, $#an a %edding,
&ui#d a 'o##s 'oyce and ce#e&rate 11
(.). ho#idays. *ut "or internationa# student ath#ete, +ami#a
uesada, 8 months %as enough time
to overcome a serious o&stac#e.
uesada is a +osta 'ica native in her "irst year o" graduate
schoo#. -or the $ast "our
years, she has &een a high#y active mem&er o" the %omens
tennis team $artici$ating in &oth
sing#es and doues. In 2011, she %as a redshirt -reshman. *y the
-a## o" 2012, she %as ran/ed
!th in most amount o" doues %ins in a season %ith 21 and a#so
"inished 1812 in sing#es. In
2013, uesada’s game im$roved drastica##y. )he "inished %ith an
overa## 18! sing#es record in
con"erence, a$$eared at the num&er three s$ot in the sing#es
regiona# ran/ings, #ed the schoo# in
doues %ith teammate, #eis *arte/ at a 216 mar/ overa## and 63 in
the con"erence and
a$$eared at the num&er 22 s$ot in the nationa# ran/ings.
uring a tournament in 2013, -a## season, uesada and *arte/ %ere
very c#ose to the
"inish o" their match in the doues "ina#s. s the &a## %as
served to them, they &oth %ent "or the
same &a## and co##ided. hen the t%o co##ided, uesada’s
successes in the season at hand came
cruming do%n. )he had torn her + and %as to#d she %ou#d no
#onger &e ae to $artici$ate
"or the remainder o" the season.he ty$ica# hea#ing time "or an +
tear is a&out nine months "or
"u## recovery. 7ot on#y did uesada ta/e #ess time to "u##y
recover, &ut she %as &ac/ and $#aying
matches in record time.
uring her time o" recovery, she s$ent many hours at doctors
a$$ointments and $hysica#
thera$y sessions as %e## as time %ith the schoo#’s ath#etic
trainers many o" %hich consisted o" #eg
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strengthening, #o%er &ody and $oo# eercises.“ 7ot on#y
did my doctor do a great jo&, &ut our
ath#etic trainers are a#so amaing.”uesada said.“9onest#y, I o%e
them everything and I am
"u##y recovered &ecause o" them. hey $ushed me so hard every
day "or eight months so I cou#d
come &ac/ even stronger.”
+ontinuing to $ush herse#" and get stronger, uesada strove to
&e &ac/ on the court in
#itt#e time.hough she says getting her stro/es, rhythm, and
conditioning &ac/ on the court %as a
cha##enge, she %as set on not a##o%ing her $ast injuries hinder
her "uture successes. he "irst
o""icia# match she $#ayed %as &ac/ home in +osta 'ica #ast
summer. “Even though it %as a
"riend#y match, "or me it meant the %or#d.”uesada said.
In her very "irst com$etitive match &ac/ on the court,
uesada $u##ed out a %in.“I don’t
/no% ho% it ha$$ened”she said,“ &ut it did.”)ince
recovering "rom her injury, she has $#aced
"irst in near#y every doues and sing#es match in the 2015 season
and ho#ds an im$ressive
overa## record o" 225.“ 7o% that %e are in season and %e
$#ay :uite o"ten, I go &ac/ to the
"ee#ing I had during my "irst match in the summer and it
motivates me in a %ay.”uesada said.
his semester, uesada is $#eased to say she does not have any
injuries, ho%ever she is
sti## dea#ing %ith some $ain and soreness. “ 7ot &eing
ae to $#ay tennis "or eight months %as
de"inite#y a #ong and ehausting $rocess, &ut today I can say
it %as a## %orth it.”uesada said.
